Nowadays very few devices manage to stay under wraps until the day they are officially presented to the world. Thanks to numerous leaks we often learn about phones’ specs, sometimes in great detail, weeks or even months ahead of their announcement. However, every once in a while a manufacturer drops a bomb that takes everyone by surprise. That’s what HTC did earlier today. Right in the middle of general admiration of the recently announced One M9, the company unveiled an updated version of the HTC One M8. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the HTC One M8s.

HTC One M8s vs. HTC One M8

No, there is no mistake in the name. The new HTC One M8s is a slightly refreshed variant of last year’s One M8, only destined to European markets. In the UK the phone will cost £379.99 unlocked, which is about $564. Prices for other markets will be revealed soon.

On the outside, the One M8s is in no way different than the old well known flagship of 2014, the HTC One M8. The phone is clad in the same metal case available in silver, gold and gunmetal color options, and sports a 5-inch 1080p display which makes it identical in size to the M8. On the front panel reside BoomSound speakers and a 5-megapixel selfie camera, while on the back there is a Duo camera with a 13-megapixel sensor rather than UltraPixel.

Even though the M8s looks like the M8 twin brother, its insides are a tad different. The quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor was replaced by a octa-core Snapdragon 615 chip and there is a larger 2,840 mAh battery instead of the 2,600 mAh unit on the M8. The new model runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, though with Sense 6 on top rather than Sense 7.

We have to admit that HTC’s move is somewhat baffling. With the HTC One M9 available for pre-order and going on sale in stores next week, many retailers and carriers already have or soon will offer its predecessor at discounted prices. Does it make any sense to release a new yet very similar version of the One M8 when the handset is still perfectly capable of great performance? HTC seems to think so, but as always, it’s the users who will determine the fate of the phone.